In a cellular communication network, each cell employs a base station that communicates with user equipment, such as a laptop, a PDA or a cell phone that is actively located within its cell. When the user equipment is first turned on, it performs an initial cell search in order to be connected to the cellular network. This involves a downlink synchronization process between the base station and the user equipment wherein the base station sends a synchronization signal to the user equipment.
Based on channel quality indications perceived by the user equipment, communication resource blocks associated with the cellular network may be allocated to the user equipment. The number of resource blocks that are allocated depends somewhat on the number of users within the cell and the ability of their equipment to accommodate a larger number of resource blocks. The ability of the user equipment to accommodate a larger number of resource blocks improves data rates and reduces cell planning constraints. Since cellular communication systems offer great flexibility in their use, improvements would prove beneficial in the art.